On April 15, 2011, the U.S. government banned online poker in the states. They also pretty much shut it down everywhere else. The FBI seized the top 3 online poker gambling sites’ owners: Full Tilt, Poker Stars, and Absolute Poker. The FBI is trying to get the companies for money laundering and fraud. An estimated $3 billion in money laundering. "These defendants, knowing full well that their business with U.S. customers and U.S. banks was illegal, tried to stack the deck," said Janice Fedarcyk, FBI assistant director-in-charge. "They lied to banks about the true nature of their business. Then, some of the defendants found banks willing to flout the law for a fee. The defendants bet the house that they could continue their scheme, and they lost."
This has many professional poker players debating if they should leave the United States. Honestly, I'm mostly thinking about it because of being disgusted about living in a country that would ban online poker," Gallo said when contacted by ESPN.com. "I'd rather play poker abroad than do something else in this country at this point. I feel like my country is trying to make money in the guise of holding my hand." There are a few other sites players could play on but none of them feel safe using a sight that is not Poker Stars or Full Tilt.
There is also a World Series of Poker that is the biggest tournament in poker which occurs naturally in Las Vegas every year. Ever since a rookie accountant, Chris Moneymaker, won the whole tournament and took home $2.5 million, the WSOP has boomed. The result is more and more people going to the WSOP to try to be the next Moneymaker. The 2010 tournament awarded the winner with a little under $9 million. Now with the ban on the most popular site in the US, the WSOP may lose attendance due to the fact the websites held tournaments to pay for people to go to the WSOP.
No comments:
Post a Comment